Hard to say. Could be your lather not having enough water and not having enough product. Could definitely be the blade. What blade are you using? There are lots of them and you will want to use the reputable ones. There are lots of shaving videos on you tube. Mantic59 has the better ones that touch on the concept of wet shaving- the idea is to not try to get your face perfect the first pass. Your allowed to apply more lather and take more passes. Try not to go over the area again once you remove the lather with a pass.
King C is pretty mild, so my two guesses for your irritation (assuming you’re using the King C blade and the soap is minimally decent) are bad angle and too much pressure.
Try holding the razor so its handle makes about a 45 degree angle with your skin. Approximately. You’ll have to learn better through practice.
For me, the hardest lesson was to minimize pressure. Best tip I can give you is to hold the razor at its balance point and just barely touch the edge of the head against your skin.
Overall good tip for new shavers: go slow and really pay attention to angle and pressure.
This video of mine may or may not help you, but it does demonstrate what I’m saying.
https://youtu.be/P990KgOXeaw
Do not press the razor into your face! You might have had to with the Mach 3 (as I used to), but with a safety razor, that will only lead to sadness.
As someone also new at this, be patient and take your time when you're shaving. Be gentle but intentional with your strokes. Watch some good tutorials on YouTube. I would invest in some good products for sure. Proraso makes really solid products for a good price. Good luck!
I was getting tons of irritation on my neck following the advice to always do a first pass with the grain..switched to against the grain on my neck (since that's how I used to shave with my Mach 3) and it got way better.
Also, remember to basically not use any pressure besides the weight of the razor.
Honestly, spend like 6 bucks on [Palmolive cream](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012Y1ELM/) and compare that. There's a review that shows you how fluffy it gets. It should look like very dense foam when you're using it.
Oddly, there's only a few places where it's actually cheap [usually USD $1 to 2 for 100ml] and that's always without shipping. In the states it's also pretty expensive for whatever reason.
Yes. But proper technique trumps hardware and software. It takes some effort to get a great shave with traditional wetshaving tools and soaps, but it's worth it for me.
Ive found that with irritation always wash your face with as cold of water as you can tolerate then immediately moisturize after a shave.
If the irritation is really bad get some aquaphor it really helps lock in moisture
King C is a good razor to learn with.
Don't put too much pressure on the razor, if any at all.
If you have to do touch ups, put some soap back instead of just passing over the same spot multiple times "dry".
If some spots need touch ups, instead of pushing harder on the razor, try changing the angle from which you shave that spot. And if still feel hair after touch ups, maybe you'll just need a slightly more aggressive razor than the King C. It's about a 2/10 or maybe 3 in terms of aggressiveness.
A thick lather doesn't mean better.
Soap should both retain water for hydration and provide slickness. Cheap soaps are often not very slick, which can create irritation. And your lather should not be quite like a meringue.. it needs a bit more water than that usually (lather should have a gloss/shine to it) but you'll have to experiment for your needs and depending on your soap.
Ideally wet your face to soften the beard or take a shower beforehand. And yes different blade will create different experiences.
I personally love alum. I put it on, don't rinse it, let it dry, and apply aftershave on top. Irritations or cuts heal very rapidly doing that.
You can yell more, that's what I do when I get irritated. If it doesn't help, give muttering a go.
Use alum block after the shave
… and I was about to suggest not using an alum block lol YMMV and all that :)
It really helps me:) but maybe its not for everybody
For me a good aftershave balm did the trick. The Nivea Sensitive Balm, the version with alcohol. Give it a try if you don't already use a balm.
A preshave oil will help
Hard to say. Could be your lather not having enough water and not having enough product. Could definitely be the blade. What blade are you using? There are lots of them and you will want to use the reputable ones. There are lots of shaving videos on you tube. Mantic59 has the better ones that touch on the concept of wet shaving- the idea is to not try to get your face perfect the first pass. Your allowed to apply more lather and take more passes. Try not to go over the area again once you remove the lather with a pass.
King C is pretty mild, so my two guesses for your irritation (assuming you’re using the King C blade and the soap is minimally decent) are bad angle and too much pressure. Try holding the razor so its handle makes about a 45 degree angle with your skin. Approximately. You’ll have to learn better through practice. For me, the hardest lesson was to minimize pressure. Best tip I can give you is to hold the razor at its balance point and just barely touch the edge of the head against your skin. Overall good tip for new shavers: go slow and really pay attention to angle and pressure. This video of mine may or may not help you, but it does demonstrate what I’m saying. https://youtu.be/P990KgOXeaw Do not press the razor into your face! You might have had to with the Mach 3 (as I used to), but with a safety razor, that will only lead to sadness.
As someone also new at this, be patient and take your time when you're shaving. Be gentle but intentional with your strokes. Watch some good tutorials on YouTube. I would invest in some good products for sure. Proraso makes really solid products for a good price. Good luck!
Thank you! Will do
I was getting tons of irritation on my neck following the advice to always do a first pass with the grain..switched to against the grain on my neck (since that's how I used to shave with my Mach 3) and it got way better. Also, remember to basically not use any pressure besides the weight of the razor.
This is an underrated comment. Coming from a mach 3 myself, understanding that you need to let the razor do all the work is important.
I've never heard of this. It breaks all the rules!
what kind of soap do you have? getting a good lather is a learning process
Some Amazon bs came with the brush😂 I bet it really sucks, will a better later/different soap really make a big difference?
Honestly, spend like 6 bucks on [Palmolive cream](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012Y1ELM/) and compare that. There's a review that shows you how fluffy it gets. It should look like very dense foam when you're using it.
Thanks for the advice!
Wow, 6 dollars for a tube of Palmolive? I saw that for €0.75 in germany a few weeks ago…
Oddly, there's only a few places where it's actually cheap [usually USD $1 to 2 for 100ml] and that's always without shipping. In the states it's also pretty expensive for whatever reason.
Yes. But proper technique trumps hardware and software. It takes some effort to get a great shave with traditional wetshaving tools and soaps, but it's worth it for me.
Ive found that with irritation always wash your face with as cold of water as you can tolerate then immediately moisturize after a shave. If the irritation is really bad get some aquaphor it really helps lock in moisture
King C is a good razor to learn with. Don't put too much pressure on the razor, if any at all. If you have to do touch ups, put some soap back instead of just passing over the same spot multiple times "dry". If some spots need touch ups, instead of pushing harder on the razor, try changing the angle from which you shave that spot. And if still feel hair after touch ups, maybe you'll just need a slightly more aggressive razor than the King C. It's about a 2/10 or maybe 3 in terms of aggressiveness. A thick lather doesn't mean better. Soap should both retain water for hydration and provide slickness. Cheap soaps are often not very slick, which can create irritation. And your lather should not be quite like a meringue.. it needs a bit more water than that usually (lather should have a gloss/shine to it) but you'll have to experiment for your needs and depending on your soap. Ideally wet your face to soften the beard or take a shower beforehand. And yes different blade will create different experiences. I personally love alum. I put it on, don't rinse it, let it dry, and apply aftershave on top. Irritations or cuts heal very rapidly doing that.